John Shuttleworth biography

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I have had a keen interest in yachting since childhood. I learned to sail at the age of nine and built my first yacht (a small sailing dinghy) when I was twelve. I became actively involved in sailing multihulls in 1971-1972. Throughout this period, I cruised extensively in multihulls along the coast of Southern Africa and the Coast of South America throughout the Caribbean and on an Atlantic crossing. Prior to the cruise, I completed a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree, majoring in engineering. My engineering background and work experience in the computing field greatly assisted the analysis of the technical characteristics and performance of a multihull which I carried out during the cruise, and in my subsequent practice as a professional yacht designer which I commenced in 1976.

40 ft Trimaran "Sweet Painted Lady"

I built my first multihull (a 40 ft trimaran)in 1974. From 1976 to 1981 I lived afloat and cruised extensively, around the UK and the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic, throughout the Caribbean and along the East Coast of the USA, participating in local racing in a number of places. I designed my first monohull in 1975 and my first multihull the following year. Between 1976 and 1978 I worked for Derek Kelsall of Kent, England (a professional boat builder and designer) designing multihulls and monohulls. Great Britain IV was was one of the most successful designs we produced during that time. In 1976, Derek Kelsall and I derived a new method of predicting multihull performance, and my mathematical formulae (known as the MOCRA Rating Rule) was used for many years for rating multihulls in the UK. During this period, I was invited to join the Multihull Offshore Cruising and Racing Association (MOCRA) Rating Committee as mathematical advisor on multihull performance, and subsequently I delivered a paper on the subject at the 1980 World Multihull Symposium in England.

In 1980, I designed a 65 ft trimaran, "Brittany Ferries GB" specifically for entry in the 1981 double-handed trans Atlantic race. "Brittany Ferries GB" was sailed by two well known English yachtsmen (Chay Blyth and Rob James) and won by more than 16 hours in a 14 day race, breaking the East West transatlantic record.

Since then, I have designed more than 50 other multihulls including:

"Fleury Michon VI"
• "Fleury Michon VI", a 56 - foot racing trimaran which was first across the finish line in the 1984 single handed trans Atlantic race, breaking the race record.
  
  "Elle-et-Vire"
  Renamed "Elle Et Vire", she still holds the record for the fastest single handed voyage from New York to San Francisco around Cape Horn.


• "Great American"
  "Great American", a 60 - foot racing trimaran which holds the record for the fastest sailing vessel to sail from New York to San Francisco, around cape Horn.



• "Novanet"
  "Novanet" which was the largest racing catamaran (80ft) in Britain when she was launched, and holds the around Ireland record.

I am a member of MOCRA in England. I have been a regular contributor to Multihulls, a US publication, Seahorse, - the magazine of the Royal Ocean Racing Club and Multihull International, both UK publications. I have published an article on hull shapes and resistances to motion in catamarans and trimarans, as well as technical studies on the performance characteristics of multihulls. I have regularly given papers on multihull design and performance at international symposiums and was a member of the 'Distinguished Panel of Designers' at the second World Multihull symposium in the USA in 1984, and again in 1988 in Newport Rhode Island. In 1988 I gave a paper on Multihull Design Considerations for Seaworthiness at the New England Sailing Yacht Symposium (1988) sponsored by the US Coast Guard. In addition, I have raced in multihulls in Britain, France, and the USA, as well as in a trans Atlantic record attempt with Chay Blyth.

In 1988 I was invited by the New Zealand Challenge to coordinate and oversee their computer performance prediction and data gathering methods for the Americas cup. We conducted an extensive tank test programme, extensive on the water testing, and probably the most advanced computer performance prediction work to date on multihulls.

My commitment to ongoing development of our multihull designs involves tank testing, computer modelling, testing of materials, and sailing. In recent years I have been racing in the UK, and cruising with my family mostly in the Mediterranean, and Bahamas.